There is a need to manage the air handling capability for devices exposed to the natural environment. Air intake and air handling systems that draw in outside ambient air also draw in some amount of fluid or precipitation. Some air intake systems add moisture to an air stream for performance advantages such as evaporative cooling and increased density. Other air movement systems need to remove fluids from a process, such as exhaust systems. Vanes or louvers reduce or remove unwanted natural or generated fluids from the air stream. To function properly, vanes or louvers are spaced at distances that achieve desired performance such as fluid removal efficiency, air flow versus restriction, weight, and structural integrity at various velocities. Vanes are typically made from formed or extruded metals such as stainless steel and aluminum or plastics such as PVC and ABS. Other materials or alloys may be also used for different performance scenarios or operating conditions.
Spacing is typically accomplished by adding spacers between each vane or louver. Traditionally, this style of spacer includes one or more apertures to interface with one or more rods. In some cases, the spacer is simply a tube cut to a specific length. A rod or plurality of rods typically insert into the respective apertures that are formed or added through each vane or louver. Adding spacers is very time consuming and is prone to error during assembly. Spacers are often also considered “loose hardware” that is undesirable or unacceptable in many applications. Additionally, fabricating specific lengths of spacers limits performance options. For example, to assemble a traditional vane pack, assemblers must spend hours manually aligning dozens of machined rods and hundreds of spacers. Moreover, if one spacer is missed or coupled backwards or upside down, for example, the entire vane pack must be disassembled in order to fix the incorrect spacer.
Alternatively, spacing may be accomplished by adding comb-style clip spacers to the front and/or rear of the vane or louver profile. Vanes or louvers having comb-style spacers are less time consuming to assemble, but are also typically less reliable. Such spacers are also often considered undesirable or unacceptable “loose hardware” in certain applications. Comb-style spacers can fall off when handling a vane or louver pack. Often, comb-style spacers require additional support structure during installation and during operation.
Another issue effecting air intakes and air handling systems is frost, ice, or snow build up on vanes or louvers. The buildup can dramatically decrease the performance of the vane or louver. At times, the buildup can completely block the flow of air. For example, ice can form on a surface if the surface temperature is lower than the ambient air temperature. The mechanism of ice formation is one of precipitation or condensation, where the dew point of the air is reached and the air is no longer able to support the level of moisture present. The moisture then precipitates from the air onto the surface. If the surface temperature is below freezing the moisture will form into ice. By comparison, snow accumulation presents a completely different challenge. Snow formation temperatures are comparatively high as snow is usually formed between −2 and +5° C. The problem shifts from formation of ice on the vanes to one of clogging. Further, freezing fog can often occur at considerably lower temperatures than snow.
Some vanes and louvers are electrically heated to prevent the inlet icing, snow accumulation, or freezing fog accumulation. This heating is typically accomplished by applying heat tape to channels in the vane or louver. Electrical heating generally requires skilled labor and/or licensed electricians to manufacture and install. However, electrical heating is generally not allowed in some applications such as explosion-proof areas. Additionally, the power consumption can be higher than is desirable.
Accordingly, there is a need for vane or louver systems configured to remove fluid or precipitation from an air stream that is manufactured without spacers, and further configured for safe and cost-effective heating and cooling.